Refining machine



NOV. 1955 E. H. CUMPSTON, JR

REFINING MACHINE i d'wardfl 'mpsiarafr.

3 Sheets-Sheet l Mania? Filed May 29, 1953 Nov. 1, 1955 c s o JR 2,722,163

REFINING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1953 y I .[rzdevziar aizz/ardfl 62079055070119:

1955 E. H. CUMPSTON, JR 2,722,163

REFINING MACHINE Filed May 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent 0 5 REFINING. MACHINE lk-Edward H.-Cumpston, Jr.,;Pittsfield, -Mass;, -assignor to 3 D.:J0nes and:Sons CompanyyPittsfield, Mass., a cort: porationrofv-Massachusetts 4 ApplicationMay 29;1953, Serial No.'358,438

.. z: 10. Claims; .'.(CI. 92-26) This invention relates to apparatus for, breaking up material and more particularly to apparatus fordefibering 1 materials such aschips, rags, etc., and for refiningmaterial such as paper-making pump.

Objects of the invention are to provide .a machine 'jwhichwill circulate material of high consistency, which requires less;circulating power, than prior rnachines,

1 which; has a wide range of severity of workingaction, ..nwhi h isusimple and, inexpensive to manufacture, and

j which is durable ,and reliable inuse.

LMachinesaccording .to the present invention are characterized by agenerally. cylindrical chamber having an inlet at .oneendand an outlet at the other end, atrotor Hmountedicoaxially in,the .chamber,.together with means at, onetend oftthechamber for drivingthe rotor and .rneans forv feeding pulp'intothe chamber. from the inlet, 1th: ro or. having peripheral rakes to work the, pulp and throw ;it.=-.ag-ainst the periphery of thetcharnber in the form of..a ,thin cylindrical layer, the rakes being'disposed intclose, juxtaposition to..the periphery of the chamber t o, di g,,,into, the cylindrical layer-and .cause it to rotate, the periphery of the chamber being unobstructed to permit -rotation of -thecylindricalv layer, wherebythe centrifugal. force of the-rotatingcylindrical lay ervproduces itat leugthwise .fiow, which isvdirected toward the,outlet by the pressure of the incoming. pulp. .The' rotor preferably .ttcpmprises. a shaftupon which is mounted a'series of disks having serratedperipheries to-form the aforesaid rakes. lnhthetpreferredembodiment. the disks are mounted, on the, shaft at an angle sorthat they wobble as they rotate and they are spaced close enough together to sweep over substantially the cntireperiphery of the chamber as'they .:Nvobble ,back and forth.

alForgthe purpose of illustration one embodiment is shown in the accompanying; drawings in which Fig. 7 1 is a. plan view;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

;..;Fig.3 isa section on,linei33 of Fig. 2;

t Fig. 4 isa section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

. ;Fig.t5 .is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

3: Fig. 6-isia section onrline 6-6 of Fig. 2;

-. FigH7t is a section on line 7-7 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is-a, side view of a modification showing :parts in section;

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8; and

10-,is-a section on line 10-10 of Fig. 8.

.. 'The particular:embodiment shown in Figs. -l to;7-1,comg 'PFiSCS a base in-the form of two channels interconnected atintervals by plates 2 :welded to the channels-.1 .Mounted on the :baseintermediate its ends is a-cylindrical-chamber 3 having feet 4 secured to the base by means of-bolts 6. a As shown inFig. 3 the upper side of; the cylindrical chamber is..cut away at the inletend to accommodate 1" an. inlet casing 7 which may be-welded touthe chamber or otherwise. secured inplace. Fitted over the ,outletend Q of the chamber is aca sing 8 which is mounted on the base 1 with screws; 9 and which is open at the bottom to permit I discharge of the refined pulp, At the opposite 'ends' of ,rr the .base;are bearings 11,-and 12 whicharemounted on v ;vthe.base by means of screws 13 .and 14..- Journalled in t the bearings-.isa shaft 16having aprojecting end forcon- ,Mnection totatmotorpr Fast to thenshaft at theiinlet end 5, .is antabutment ring 1'7 and threaded on-theshaftat'the .1toutlet=,end is anuabutment nutt18. .Fitted over the shaft .mjntermediate'thetring 17 andthe nut 18 are thezworking parts oftthemachineanow to be described.

. a. At the-inlet,end;a tube 19 is fitted overthe shaft 16 10.4withtonewendzabutting.thering 17. Fast totthe'periphery of.ther:tube 16-is a.spiral rib 21-forv feeding pulp'into the ..ch"arnber 3.x Abuttin'gtheaend ofthe tube 1-9,is an im- .-.p'eller inflthewform of two blades 22 arranged at right ,.,angles and. welded together,the ends of:the\ blades being bent-along ,the .lines 23 so that the: blades also .-.tend to feedthetpulp intotthenchamber 3.. Spaced from the'impeller 22 by..a:spacing.ring 24 ,is a banger 26 having .ribs 2-7:..fast to theinletsideand notches 2-8 in its periphery, .this device servingtotbreak up the entering: chips or other Qtpieces of, material, thereby protecting the refining elements.

Following the banger 26 is a series of serrated disks 1- 31,:which are spacedfrorn eachother byspacingr-ings 32, ..thetfirst disk beingspacedfrom thebanger 26 byspacing 55 ring 33 tThetdiskspreferably turn in the direction-opposite to the direction in which therakespoint so. thattfibers vandthe like do not catch on theteetht. Asshown'inFig. 2 ,nrtheidisks arelmounted at amangle to the axis of the rotor sorthat. they: wobbleqback' and forth as the-shaftrotates, the/disks; being close enough --together 'to sweep :over ;subuatstantially the-.entireperiphery of the chamber asethey L. wobble backtand fort-brand faritenough apart to actin- ..(.,.dependently on; the-:pulpst Mounted on-the outlet .end of. the .-shaft .is t a. retarder- 34wcompr-ising :a --plate.;having 3 its. endsnbentialongdines 36 (Fig. 7,) i-nthe direction to ..-.r1:etard: the flow of .pulp to the .outlet: and. prevent surgaging. The.rctardermayalso have ribs 3'7-;welded tot-the outletside to-assist in;discharging-the pulpvthroughthe :outleL- (Theretarder 34 is held in spacedurelationship to. thetlast -.serrated,v=dislc by-means of-;aspacing ri1:lg 38 tagandaanothere ring 39 .bridgesthe :space' between-theretarderiand. theiabutmentnnut 18: After the partsvhave rbeemfittedtover. the .shaft the abutment nut 18 is: applied tottclamp .the: parts between it :and:the-abutment ring 317a ,Aften-thezparts-havewbeen-mounted onthe shafitsthe sshaft istinserted into the chamber, through theoutlet'fend. Afterathctshaft isnmounted in :thewbearings l-lztand 12 thehousing-B isapplied;over-the-outlet fend of the.-chamber. an Inpperationthezmaterial-delivered to.-the*-inlet is fed 1 by theaspiral'ribt 2.1 tand-aimpeller 22 to-=the. banger 26 mwhere thelargerrpieces areubroken up;-;.As the material ttpasses through the'rake section it is further broken up and awthrown out against-the. periphery of the; chamber '3 int the t form of. a .thin:cylindrical-coating: 1 As the coating builds up to taathickne ssngreaterr than: the spacing betweenethe a periphery oi the disksiandthe periphery of'the-chamber tether disksv rake the coating" and cause the coating .-to rotate,

the periphery of the chamber-beingunobstructed to per- 6.0 mit the;cylindrical layer to slide; The centrifugal'force v ..pro,duceql byt ,thistrotation; tends to flatten-.-the layer'and i inasmuch as titrcannot flatten by-circumferential flow it flattens by axial -flow=.- -While the.;centrifugal-forceztends to produce axial flow equally toward the inletand outlet .x-GlildS, the flow toward theiinlettendis counteracted by the flincomingdpulp. Consequently theuflow is-toward--the xoutlettend. From the foregoing it will beevidenttthat most ofl-the dispersing andlrefining "action takes, place in the thin layer invthe form of high speedimpact." Therefining action is ,most pronouncedwhenthe material being worked is of high viscosity and the layer is thin. Paper-making materials can be worked to advantage at consistencies up to approximately fifty percent. At these high consistencies turbulence is held to a minimum.

The modification shown in Figs. 8 to 10 is similar to the first embodiment in that it comprises a generally cylindrical chamber 41, an inlet casing 42, a drive shaft 43, a feed screw 44 and revolving rakes 46. However it differs in the following respects. The diameter of the feed drum 44 more closely approximates the internal diameter of the chamber 41 and the radial dimension of the feed screw is less, thereby feeding the material to the chamber near its periphery. Moreover the chamber 41 is slightly tapered toward its outlet end so that the clearance between the rakes and the periphery of the chamber gradually decreases toward the outlet end. In this way the degree of refining action is gradually increased from the inlet end of the rake section to the outlet end. Furthermore the rakes 46 are pivotally mounted on rods 47 which are mounted on the rotor at their ends as illustrated at 48 in Fig. 8. the radial position shown in the figures due to centrifugal force, but if a rock or other obstruction should be fed into the machine accidentally the rakes can swing back when they engage the rock, thereby preventing damage to the rakes.

As illustrated in both embodiments the leading edges of the ends of the rakes should incline outwardly and rearwardly, that is outwardly and in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation.

The operating conditions of these machines afiford many advantages. The power consumption is relatively low due to the absence of excessive turbulence because of the small amount of carrying fluid required. The severity of the working action can be easily controlled because the high viscosities permit the use of large easily controlled working clearances. The rate of flow through the machine is controlled solely by the input rate. The severity of the refining action can be adjusted by altering the working clearances, the material viscosity, the machine speed or the shape of the rakes. The axial dimensions of the rakes should be small, preferably of the order of one-tenth inch or less. For maximum refining action successive rakes lengthwise of the chamber should be spaced apart far enough to drag through the surface of the cylindrical layer of material without substantial dragging action on the material windway between the successive teeth. The spacing between the tips of the rakes and the periphery of the chamber should be of the order of 0.01" to 0.20". The linear velocity of the rakes may vary widely depending upon the material being worked and the degree of refining desired, but for ordinary refining of paper-making material it can be of the order of 4000 feet per minute.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the cylindrical layer of material on the periphery of the chamber tends to maintain a constant thickness under constant working conditions. As the layer increases in thickness the rakes get a better hold on the cylindrical layer, thereby increasing the centrifugal force and therefore the rate of flow. Conversely if the layer tends to get thinner, due for example to a reduced rate of supply, the spinning action and centrifugal forces are reduced, thereby permitting the thickness of the layer to increase.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A refining machine comprising an approximately cylindrical chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, a rotor mounted coaxially in the chamber, means at one end of the chamber for driving the rotor, and means for feeding material into the chamber from said inlet, the rotor having peripheral rakes to throw the material against the periphery of the chamber in the form of a cylindrical layer, the rakes being spaced from In normal operation the rakes would occupy the periphery of the chamber but disposed in juxtaposition to the periphery to drag through the cylindrical layer, refine it, and cause it to rotate, and successive rakes lengthwise of the chamber being spaced apart far enough to drag through the coating without substantial dragging action on the material midway between the successive rakes, the periphery of the chamber being free of obstructions which would prevent rotation of the cylindrical layer, said outlet extending around the chamber and outwardly to said periphery so that the cylindrical layer can flow directly through the outlet lengthwise of the container, whereby the centrifugal force of the rotating cylindrical layer produces a lengthwise flow which is directed toward the outlet by the pressure of the incoming material.

2. A machine according to claim 1 further characterized in that the rakes are pivoted on the rotor to swing back and permit the passage of objects which might damage the rakes.

3. A refining machine comprising an approximately cylindrical chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, a shaft extending axially through the chamber, a series of thin disks mounted on the shaft, means at one end of the chamber for rotating the shaft and disks, and means for feeding material into the chamber from said inlet, the peripheries of the disks being serrated to form rakes which throw the material against the periphery of the chamber in the form of a cylindrical layer and the rakes being spaced from the periphery of the chamber but disposed in juxtaposition to the periphery to dig into the cylindrical layer, refine it and cause it to rotate, said outlet extending around the chamber and outwardly to said periphery so that the cylindrical layer can flow directly through the outlet lengthwise of the container, whereby the centrifugal force of the rotating cylindrical layer produces a lengthwise flow which is directed toward the outlet by the pressure of the incoming material.

4. A machine according to claim 1 further characterized in that the leading edges of the rakes incline outwardly and rearwardly.

5. A machine according to claim 1 further characterized in that the chamber is slightly tapered so that the clearance between the rakes and chamber gradually decreases toward the outlet end.

6. A refining machine comprising an approximately cylindrical chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, a shaft extending axially through the chamber, a series of disks mounted on the shaft, means at one end of the chamber for rotating the shaft and disks, and means for feeding material into the chamber from said inlet and throwing it against the periphery of the chamber in the form of a cylindrical layer and the periphcries of the disks being spaced from the periphery of the chamber but disposed in juxtaposition to the periphery to drag through the cylindrical layer and cause it to rotate, so that the centrifugal force of the rotating cylindrical layer produces a lengthwise flow which is directed toward the outlet by the pressure of the incoming material, the disks being mounted on the shaft at an angle, so that they wobble as they rotate, and said outlet extending around the chamber and outwardly to said periphery so that the cylindrical layer can flow directly through the outlet lengthwise of the container.

7. A machine according to claim 3 further characterized in that said disks are mounted on the shaft at an angle so that they wobble as they rotate, and in that they are close enough together to sweep over substantially the entire periphery of the chamber as they wobble back and forth.

8. A refining machine comprising an approximately cylindrical chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, a shaft extending along the axis of the chamber, and means on the shaft for throwing material against the periphery of the chamber in the form of a cylindrical layer and then working on the layer, said means comprising a series of rakes disposed in juxtaposition to the periphery of the chamber to drag through the cylindrical layer and cause it to rotate, so that the centrifugal force of the rotating cylindrical layer produces a lengthwise flow which is directed toward the outlet, and said outlet extending around the chamber and outwardly to said periphery so that the cylindrical layer can flow directly through the outlet lengthwise of the container.

9. A refining machine comprising an approximately cylindrical chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, a shaft extending along the axis of the chamber, and means on the shaft for throwing material against the periphery of the chamber in the form of a cylindrical layer and then working on the layer, said means comprising a series of rakes disposed in juxtaposition to the periphery of the chamber to drag through the cylindrical layer and cause it to rotate, so that the centrifugal force of the rotating cylindrical layer produces a lengthwise flow which is directed toward the outlet, and said rakes being spaced from said periphery to provide clearance for fibers.

10. A refining machine comprising an approximately cylindrical chamber having an inlet at one end and an outlet at the other end, a shaft extending along the axis of the chamber, and means on the shaft for throwing material against the periphery of the chamber in the form of a cylindrical layer and then working on the layer, said means comprising a series of rakes disposed in juxtaposition to the periphery of the chamber to drag through the cylindrical layer and cause it to rotate, so that the centrifugal force of the rotating cylindrical layer produces a lengthwise fiow which is directed toward the outlet, and rakes being spaced from said periphery to provide clearance for fibers, and said outlet extending around the chamber and outwardly to said periphery so that the cylindrical layer can flow directly through the oulet lengthwise of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,072,710 Crane Mar. 2, 1937 2,207,194 Gruendler July 9, 1940 2,516,384 Hill et a1 July 25, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 616,373 Great Britain J an. 20, 1949 

